Slow start, miscues send Hillsboro Indians to Week 2 loss against Goshen Warriors

The Hillsboro Indians’ first quarter doomed them from the start, and they were unable to catch back up with the visiting Goshen Warriors on Friday night, resulting in a 28-7 non-conference loss for the home team at Richards Memorial Field.

Within the first five minutes of the game, the Indians and Warriors went from kickoff to the Warriors leading by a 14-0 score, and those two touchdowns occurred within 12 seconds of game time of each other.

From the very start of the game, the Indians’ miscues cost them yardage and momentum with the opening kickoff being fumbled, then picked up and HHS being tackled on their own 2-yard line. That drive resulted in five total yards for the Indians, including a holding penalty that forced them to punt away the football.

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On the ensuing drive, the visiting Warriors — of the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference — began their first offensive drive on the Indians’ 38-yard line. The Warriors chipped away at the defense of Hillsboro with their first two plays resulting in a first down, followed by another two-yard gain.

Goshen’s first big-yardage play occurred with a pass from Jack Webster to Dylan Ashcraft for 22 yards, taking the Warriors from the 24-yard line all the way to the 2-yard line for a first-and-goal opportunity.

On the very next play, Hunter Slusher rushed two yards to the end zone for six points with 7:31 left on the first-quarter clock. The PAT by Connor Bucksath gave Goshen a 7-0 lead.

That lead quickly jumped to 14 points on the very next play as the Indians fumbled a second kickoff on consecutive chances, as Slusher of Goshen recovered the loose ball for the touchdown with 7:19 still on the first quarter clock. Again, the PAT was good by Bucksath for a 14-0 Goshen lead.

“We got out of our game a little bit, got behind a little bit, and gave up a big run in the third quarter," Hillsboro head coach Jack O'Rourke said. "That made us have to start throwing the ball a little bit more, and that’s not our forte.

"We’re kind of young in some aspects. We have a lot of inexperience out there, and some of them didn’t react to that today. We were not blocking the right people and not doing the right things at times. I don’t know what we’re going to do other than simplify it and keep going.

“We’ve got to get more consistent.”

Giving up the quick 14 points to the Warriors put the Indians in a hole they were unable to dig out of for the remainder of the game, but they did have chances to score points as the game continued. The Indians took advantage of one of those opportunities, but before that happened, it was another special teams mishap that hurt the Indians.

After having three straight plays that resulted in seven yards, the Indians decided to punt the football from their own 42-yard line. The ensuing punt was backed by Eric Eickenhorst of the Warriors, recovered on the 38-yard line of Hillsboro.

The Indians finally had the momentum go their way in the first quarter with Keith Doughman intercepting the pass for the Tribe — on a third-and-5 play — giving the Indians possession of the ball on their own 39-yard line with 3:36 left in the first quarter.

Hillsboro’s lone touchdown drive began with a second down run of three yards by Logan Hester, followed by a pass from Justin Spears to Silas Simmons for seven yards. Next came a 7-yard rush by Simmons on fourth down to keep the play moving along to the Goshen 46-yard line.

Following runs of three yards by Simmons and a five-yard run by Spears, the Indians gained another first down to end the first quarter off a dash of four yards by Simmons for a first down on the GHS 35-yard line.

On first down, Hester raced for a six-yard gain, followed by a first down run of six yards by Mark Gallimore, putting the Indians on the 23-yard line. The drive continued with a 19-yard run to the end zone by Gallimore, but a holding penalty on the Indians voided the score, pushing the Indians to a second-and-16 play from the 29-yard line.

A 16-yard rush by Gallimore gave the Indians a first down. A fumble on the ensuing snap was recovered by Spears to keep the drive going, and on second down Gallimore rushed for an 8-yard gain.

The third down play had no gain, and on fourth-and-2 from the 5-yard line Simmons bull-rushed his way for four yards, placing the ball on the 1-yard line for a first down. The next play saw Simmons finish the drive with the 1-yard score with 6:57 left in the second quarter. The PAT was made by Hayden Hawk for a 14-7 score.

That scoring drive by the Indians went 18 plays for 61 yards, including 17 rushes and one passing play, with the drive lasting 9:19 of game time.

The second quarter continued to be good to the Indians with the defense forcing a punt. Following a punt by the Indians as well on their next drive, Goshen put together a drive that started on their own 42-yard line, but eventually ended on the Indians’ 20-yard line with a turnover on downs forced by the Hillsboro defense, leaving the halftime score at 14-7.

One of the plays in that turnover on downs forced by the Indians was a sack for a six-yard loss by Hester on third down.

Even with the miscues by the Indians, they unofficially out-gained the Warriors, 119-71 in the first half, but the second half saw the Indians held scoreless for the second straight week. This season through two games, the Indians have been held scoreless in six of their eight quarters played.

Goshen added another touchdown in the third quarter, starting a drive on their own 30-yard line, and ending with a 64-yard run for a touchdown by Ashcraft with 5:53 left in the third. The play also had a personal foul penalty called on the Indians. Another PAT was made, putting the Warriors ahead, 21-7.

The Indians had a drive that was going in the right direction, with the drive including a play for a 22-yard gain off a pass from Spears to Doughman, who leapt in the air and came down with the football on the GHS 34-yard line for a first down. The Indians eventually reached the 23-yard line of Goshen, but the drive wrapped up with a turnover on downs with 1:14 left in the third.

Hillsboro’s defense responded with a tipped pass by Derek Whitt, seeing the ball intercepted by Gallimore with 1:08 still remaining in the third. The Indians were unable to score and had another turnover on downs, and Goshen was forced to punt, giving HHS possession of the ball with 9:32 left in the fourth.

Three plays later, the Indians threw an interception, off a tipped pass and catch by Seth Anderson on a third down play at the GHS 8-yard line.

Following both teams giving up possession of the football once again, the Warriors scored their final touchdown with 3:31 left in the fourth quarter as Webster ran the football on a QB keeper for two yards and a touchdown. The PAT was good again by Bucksath as he was 4-for-4 in extra point chances, putting the Warriors ahead for the final score of 28-7.

For the game, the Indians were led in rushing by Hester, who unofficially totaled 56 yards on seven carries. Next was Simmons with 14 carries for 39 yards and one touchdown. Gallimore finished with 15 rushes for 36 yards. The Indians unofficially totaled 159 yards on offense.

Next for the Indians is the start of a three-week non-conference road trip, beginning with their Week 3 game against the East Clinton Astros on Friday, Sept. 13 at Astro Field in Lees Creek. EC won their first game of the season on Friday night, defeating Cedarville by a 37-7 score. This win broke a 14-game losing streak for the Astros, dating back to 2017.